Investment Provisions in Regional Trading Arrangements in Asia: Relevance, Emerging Trends, and Policy Implications

To exploit the locational advantages or synergies between the member countries of the regional trading bloc besides facilitating businesses reaping the economies of scale and specialization.Investment, Provisions, Regional, Trading Arrangements, Asia, Emerging Trends, policy Implications

India's Outward Foreign Direct Investments in Steel Industry in a Chinese Comparative Perspective

Indian and Chinese enterprises have emerged as important outward investors in recent times with their involvement in a number of prominent Greenfield investments and acquisitions. The theory of international business posits that the ownership of some unique advantages having a revenue generating potential abroad combined with the presence of internalization and locational advantages leads to outward FDI. Conventional MNEs based in the industrialized countries have grown on the strength of ownership advantages derived from innovatory activity that is largely concentrated in these countries. It examines the case of steel industry that has become an important sector of overseas activity for Chinese and Indian companies with a string of major acquisitions of foreign MNEs for acquiring footprints and natural resources in order to identify the sources of ownership advantages and strategies of outward investments from emerging countries.FDI outflows, steel, India

National development banks and sustainable infrastructure in South Asia

This repository item contains a working paper from the Boston University Global Economic Governance Initiative. This particular working paper was worked on in collaboration with Pradeep K. Keshari and Rohan Ray. The Global Economic Governance Initiative (GEGI) is a research program of the Center for Finance, Law & Policy, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, and the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. It was founded in 2008 to advance policy-relevant knowledge about governance for financial stability, human development, and the environment.National development banks (NDBs) have played an important role in South Asia’s development over the years. In the early period after Independence, the focus of NDBs was generally of supporting industrial development. Infrastructure development was supported by the budgetary financing by the governments. However, over time with the widening gaps in infrastructure requirements and staggering resources required to close them prompted governments to turn to mobilize private investments. Hence, NDBs began to be established for facilitating infrastructure development including sustainable infrastructure through public private partnerships (PPPs). In addition to the sectoral coverage, the sources of funds and business models have undergone substantial transformation. This paper summarizes this transformation and reviews the financing of infrastructure and sustainable infrastructure. It also presents case studies of two key NDBs engaged in infrastructure financing. It concludes with a few policy lessons from Indian experience. There has been revival of interest in the national development banks all across the world in the context of the potential role that they can play in closing the infrastructure gaps and building sustainable infrastructure by supporting the public-private partnerships. Hence, this stock-taking may have some policy lessons for the new initiatives. The rest of the paper is structured as follows. Section 2 provides an overview of infrastructure gaps, financing challenges and NDBs in South Asia before summarizing the evolution of NDBs in India over the post-Independence period. Section 3 overviews the infrastructure gaps and financing challenges facing India. Section 4 reviews the issues involved in sustainable infrastructure development. Section 5 summarizes the policy framework for infrastructure NDBs including the sources of finance and their financing models. Section 6 presents case studies of two premier infrastructure NDBs. Section 7 concludes the paper with a few lessons from Indian experience

Farm-economics of genetically improved carp strains in major Asian countries and carp seed price policy model

The study has conducted the micro level analysis of hatchery operators, fishseed-rearing farmers and carp farmers with respect to their socio-economic characteristics, infrastructural development, husbandry practices and economics returns, based on the survey and on-farm trial data collected by the research partners in six Asian countries, viz. Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The genetically-improved carp strain is economically viable and socially acceptable. The attractive profits to hatchery operators and nursery and carp farmers have created conducive environment for the dissemination of improved carp strain. Price policy models for improved strains have been developed. The premium price for fingerlings and broodstock with improved strain has been assessed. The high price of genetically-improved nuclear seed and broodstock would build self-supportive research and extension systems in the country. A business plan for Jayanti rohu has been worked out, as an example for replacement of rohu by Jayanti rohu.Livestock Production/Industries,

Conduction mechanism and defect density of states in amorphous Te15 (Se100-xBix)85 glassy alloys

The present paper reports the dc conductivity measurement up to 100 V for pallets of Te15 (Se100-xBix)85 (x=0, 1, 2, 3, 4 at %) glassy alloys in temperature range (303-343 K). The dc conductivity is calculated from the I-V characteristics curves of the pellets of bulk samples prepared by melt quenching technique. The samples obey Ohm’s law in the lower (0-25 V) voltage range whereas the behaviour in the higher (25-100 V) voltage range is non-ohmic. The experimental results for all the samples fit well with the theory of space charge limited conduction SCLC for uniform distribution of localized states in the mobility gap. The density of defect states is calculated for the glassy alloys and is found to increase with Bi content. The increase in defect density of states can be explained on basis of electro negativity difference of Bi as compared to host elements. The increase in dc conductivity is probably due to Se-Bi bond concentration in the Se-Te-Bi glasses

Climatic Gradient and Hydrometeorological Characterization: Studies from the Cauvery River Basin South India

Humid, transition or sub-humid and Semi-arid lands are characterized by a combination of high temporal variability in rainfall and spatial heterogeneity of Hydro meteorological properties. As a consequence, presence of decadal variations in rainfall along with temporal variations will impact on groundwater extractions for irrigation requirements and their hydrological regime. In addition, during the past half century, changes have occurred in most semi-arid lands in the southern India agricultural abandonment and consequently a change in land use. In order to investigate the hydro meteorological consequences of such abandonment, three representative field sites on contrasting climate were instrumented additional field observations, experiments and secondary data simulations were performed to characterize the watersheds. A summary of the first long term results of analyses of rainfall, Temperature Evapotranspiration wind speed and other hydro meteorological variables are analyzed in climosequence zone at micro catchment scales is presented here

Conduction mechanism and defect density of states in amorphous Te15 (Se100-xBix)85 glassy alloys

189-192The present paper reports the dc conductivity measurement up to 100 V for pallets of Te15 (Se100-xBix)85 (x=0, 1, 2, 3, 4 at %) glassy alloys in temperature range (303-343 K). The dc conductivity is calculated from the I-V characteristics curves of the pellets of bulk samples prepared by melt quenching technique. The samples obey Ohm’s law in the lower (0-25 V) voltage range whereas the behaviour in the higher (25-100 V) voltage range is non-ohmic. The experimental results for all the samples fit well with the theory of space charge limited conduction SCLC for uniform distribution of localized states in the mobility gap. The density of defect states is calculated for the glassy alloys and is found to increase with Bi content. The increase in defect density of states can be explained on basis of electro negativity difference of Bi as compared to host elements. The increase in dc conductivity is probably due to Se-Bi bond concentration in the Se-Te-Bi glasses

Prevalence and outcome of gestational diabetes mellitus in women from rural population attending antenatal clinic at a teaching hospital, Tamil Nadu, India

Background: Prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus shows wide variation across our country. From the recent studies, it is observed that incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus in antenatal women is increasing globally and India is not an exception from this. Gestational diabetes mellitus should be considered as a serious risk factor for both mother and baby as it affects two generations by having chance of developing diabetes and its related complications in future.Methods: A total of 585 pregnant women with 24 to 28 weeks of gestational age were recruited for the study. The study population was divided into four groups based on the age range; Group I include antenatal women with age <20 years, Group II includes antenatal women of age range 21-24 years, Group III includes antenatal women of age range 25-29 years, and Group IV includes antenatal women of age range ≥30 years.Results: In the present study GDM was diagnosed in 94 women among 585 antenatal women screened for GDM (16.06%). Majority of the studied population are in the age range of 20-29 years (441/585, 75.38%). The mean age of participants was 27.54±3.58 years (range 18-34 years). The prevalence of GDM was higher in the group of women aged ≥30 years (Group IV) followed by ≤20 years (Group I) (23.21% and 15.62% respectively) compared to the groups II and III (14.78% and 13.74% respectively). This observation was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001). Among 585 patients, delivery outcome was 100% successful, all delivered live babies, among them 64 patients delivered babies with macrosomia (11%).Conclusions: The study showed GDM prevalence of 16.06% from the neighboring rural villages attending our teaching hospital